STATE DINNER: America – Money for Nothing, France – Chicks for Free

With the country in a destructive, economic spiral, enthusiastically goosed along by The Lyin’ King, His Majesty nevertheless threw a state dinner to honor France’s President, Francois Hollande. The gala matched Marie Antoinette’s finest efforts.

Mr. Hollande is known, primarily, for his numerous love affairs rather than for his political conduct. He hops from one mistress to another with the agility of a goat, which he resembles, and the libido of a rabbit. The mystery is how does a man who, as Breitbart puts it “…looks more like a dirty little man in a short trench coat than a president…” manage such…um…escapades .

Mr. Hollande’s opus created a spot of bother when his long-term relationship imploded over his most recent sex scandal; engraved invitations had already been printed, featuring Hollande and Valérie Trierweiler. Invitations had to be reprinted. France’s First Lady, whose title was revoked as soon as Hollande gave her the heave-ho, wasn’t Hollande’s wife. To be fair she is the mother of his four children. Hollande’s unexpected single-o status created problems for White House seating planners as well. Hollande, suddenly without an official “plus one,” was eventually seated between FLOTUS and POTUS, thus averting an international incident.

The dinner was not held in The White House. Instead, a tent was erected in order to accommodate over 350 “A-List” guests. The inside of the tent was heated and decorated to resemble Paris in springtime. The temperature outside was a brisk 7 degrees. So much for fuel conservation. Guests included such luminaries as Stephen Colbert, who was seated on FLOTUS’s right. The New York Times, in a rare moment of clarity, illustrated Colbert’s claim to fame: “Stephen Colbert, the comedian and television host, whose connection to France consists largely in his determination to pronounce his surname as if it were French (he is of Irish, English and German extraction).”

The opulent decorating scheme of the dinner was just the beginning of a resemblance to 1700’s Versailles. FLOTUS sported a gown designed by Carolina Herrera; price tag $12,000. More than one liberal outlet breathlessly applauded this tone-deaf profligacy. AOL.com writhed with admiration: “…the formal, ornate style of the sumptuous gown by Carolina Herrera reflected French aesthetics… according to Susan Swimmer, author of ‘Michelle Obama: First Lady of Fashion and Style.’ ‘From the White House to Versailles it’s not that far,’ said Swimmer…” Clearly, it isn’t.

Pretenses didn’t stop at FLOTUS’s hemline. The dinner menu was catalogued by Breitbart: “Tuesday night, the two presidents toasted each other’s greatness and engorged themselves on American caviar, quail eggs, oysters, and dry-aged beef rib-eye.” The calorie tally for the feast? A whopping 2,500 calories per hanger-on. A bit different from the starvation diet decreed by FLOTUS for America’s school children.

All this is by way of illustrating the offensive character of The Imperial President’s latest foray into the world of extravagance, a world becoming increasingly rare for us peasants. State dinners thrown by The Lyin’ King, the five that have been tallied so far, exceed $1.5 million. Not yet included are the price tags for the events given for the United Kingdom in 2012 or Tuesday’s bash for France. Those figures have not been made available by The State Department of Protocol. Considering that Americans must foot those bills this seems more opaque rather than “transparent.”

Once upon a time Nancy Reagan was vilified by the press for replacing broken White House china…which she did through private contributions, not taxpayer expense. Her use of designer clothing was fodder for public ridicule because of the mythical cost to taxpayers. Nancy Reagan’s gowns were borrowed, unlike Michelle’s. Michelle sees fit to wear $400 sneakers to a photo-op at a local soup kitchen. Hypocritically, taxpayers do pay for this regime’s every excess and we are expected to relish the privilege.

France’s philanderer and the Imperial President are linked by their flagrant disregard for their subjects. Earlier this week The Lyin’ King told an audience of onlookers “That’s the good thing about being president. I can do whatever I want.” That is the same sensibility that separated Marie Antoinette from her head.

About the author, Marilyn Assenheim: Marilyn Assenheim was born and raised in New York City. She spent a career in healthcare management although she probably should have been a casting director. Or a cowboy. A serious devotee of history and politics, Marilyn currently lives in the NYC metropolitan area. View all articles by Marilyn Assenheim

Post navigation

Leave a Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.